It is generally accepted that the growing interest in the Internet has openedup new horizons for language research. Chenault (1997:1) asserts that theInternet is not about technology or information, but about communication.
The aim with this article is to explore the Internet as a dynamic languageenvironment in which emerging patterns of language change in moderndayAfrikaans could be traced. Firstly, attention is paid to ways in which theinternet speech community could be defined as a coherent speechcommunity. A second aim with this article is to scrutinise the dichotomybetween spoken and written language. This is done in order to indicate thatlinguistic innovations, which usually emerge from social interaction, findtheir way into written language in digital communication. The third aim is totake a close look at various forms or patterns of language change inAfrikaans as they are presently used in Afrikaans chat rooms on theInternet.
The article concludes that Internet Afrikaans could be regarded as anaspect of virtual reality for Afrikaans because systematic patterns oflanguage change which started long ago in Afrikaans are confirmed by theInternet language environment.

The colours of poem and paint : Antjie Krog in conversation with MarleneDumas

Antjie Krog engages South African born painter Marlene Dumas in anintertextual dialogue in her most recent anthology Kleur kom nooit alleennie. This series of poems is titled "skilderysonnette" (sonnets of a painting). Six of the nine of Krog's "word paintings" are eponymous with Dumas'spaintings and therefore almost require an examination of the interplay ofthe respective texts. This article examines the relationship between therelevant poems and paintings.
The specific conversation between Krog's word texts and Dumas'spaintings within the context of Krog's anthology ultimately indicatesintriguing similarities. It includes, inter alia, the struggle of both artists with the problem of "belonging" - Krog from an African perspective and Dumasfrom a European angle. Both are also concerned with the politics of colour.The politics of sex also figures in both their oeuvres in the third instance.The complexity of sexuality, eroticism and love is examined in the work ofboth these artists and is ultimately expressed in the voice/vision of theemancipated woman.

This essay investigates the blurred musical significations in BenjaminBritten's Death in Venice, an opera based on Thomas Mann's importantnovella Der Tod in Venedig. The discussion of multiple meanings links upwith two categories of ambiguity as set out by William Empson in hisSeven Types of Ambiguity, that is two or more meanings which do notagree among themselves, but combine to make clear a more complicatedstate of mind, and two opposite meanings that show a fundamental divisionin the mind of the protagonist. It is indicated how this opera, as a storythrough music, portrays the physical and moral decay of the anti-hero,Gustav von Aschenbach, who enters the opera as a celebrated, world-renownedwriter.

This article examines the role played by African-language writing,performance and publishing, including critical practice, in the demise of theindigenous audience in African-language literary practice. Using implicitmaterialism the argument is premised on the developments wrought by theera of Modernism that has lead to a univocal writing of world history, and the era of Postmodernism that has ushered in the era of a multivocalwriting of world history. The transition from oral literature to writtenliterature will also be used to advance the argument about the subsequentexclusion of the indigenous African- language audience from literarypractice. This exclusion is considered to have a direct bearing on theunder-development of African societies. Finally, possible solutions will besought by revisiting some of the causes that characterize the Africanlanguage problem as a medium of communication and research.

The inclusion of a (multi-)cultural component in the curriculum forAfrikaans as additional language

In this article the author pleads for a democratisation of Afrikaans as anadditional language curriculum so that the teaching and learning ofAfrikaans could contribute towards cross-cultural consciousness. Relevantdefinitions of the concept culture are discussed, as well as interculturalunderstanding, stereotyping and communication. The relationship betweenliterature, culture and cognitive development as well as culture and nonverbalcommunication is perused. Several ways are indicated by whichculture could be integrated into a communicative Afrikaans languageprogramme, such as giving attention to different sociolinguistic speechroutines, including authentic media texts, as well as the study of folkloreand stereotypes in literary texts (with examples of each of these culturalcomponents). Broadening the learning content in this way could assist inneutralising the negative effects of the political-historical past of theAfrikaans language. This aim can be reached if the non-mother tonguelearner's interests are stimulated and his/her needs are addressed. Beinginvolved in and exposed to these kinds of cultural components in Afrikaans,the learners would feel at home in the additional language classroom.Consequently they would feel free to participate actively - both emotionallyand cognitively - and would ultimately accept responsibility for their ownlearning.

The literariness of the so-called "narrative element" in traditional heroic Sotho poetry - an intertextual analysis

This article focuses on the "literariness" of the so-called narrative lines that feature prominently in traditional Sotho heroic poetry, better known asdithoko. By means of some intertextual references it has been illustratedthat these lines do not merely convey historical detail by means of "ordinaryinformative" language. The recalling of historical events, is rathercharacterised by a reconstruction of activities in a poetic context, based oncertain referential codes dominated by a specific cultural tradition.<br>The poetic nature of these lines is not only created by the use of wellknownpoetic devices such as imagery and rhythm, but also by theselective use of allusion which defamiliarizes communicative languageusage. By alluding to historical actions, the traditional poet attempts tocreate a specific aesthetic convention rather than a mere factual one. Realevents in these narrative lines are often camouflaged by defamiliarizedlanguage and the presentation of fictional creations. The analysis of a fewexamples from dithoko that are related to certain historical events clearly indicates that these narrative lines should be evaluated against thebackground of specific literary conventions and literary codes.

The biggest problem facing lecturers of Afrikaans as a second language attertiary institutions is the fact that second-language students are usuallytaught by non-native speakers at primary and secondary levels. Thelanguage form used by these teachers shows clear deviations incomparison to the standardised form. This language form, which can becompared to an interlanguage, has its own distinctive features, and formsthe target language of second-language speakers. The short period thatsecond-language speakers are exposed to the standardised form at tertiarylevel is not enough to improve the situation significantly. The result is thatstudents who qualify themselves as teachers, will transfer the samelanguage form to their pupils at primary and secondary levels. One of theconsequences is that this language form develops into a non-standardisedform. Examples of deviations from teachers' as well as from students'language forms will be compared to indicate clearly the transfer that takesplace.

Ready to publish? On the presentation, refereeing process and textediting of scholarly articles

This article is an attempt to present authors planning to write ascholarly article with practical guidelines for submitting the article toa specific journal. The following aspects are also discussed : typicalpoints of criticism usually raised in referees' reports, and thenecessity for clarity of expression and lucid scholarly style. Specificexamples of how to enhance the technical and language finish of anarticle are included. This article is the outcome of many years ofpractical work within the Bureau for Scholarly Journals ; hence thepublication of it in Literator, one of the journals processed by theBureau.